Preface

 The need to preface has become a recurring theme over the past several weeks. At New America NYC, a panel of female journalists mentioned a particular reflex in women’s writing. They said that women consistently seek credibility in written work by prefacing written pieces with anecdotal experiences. Men charge through a piece of writing, declaring points A, B, and C without offering reassurance to readers that they are credible in their points. Women write with careful research, offering prefaces A, B, and C then points A, B, and C.  The panel suggested that women are careful because if proven wrong, they are dismissed as incompetent writers.

Since attending the panel discussion, this trend continues to grab my attention. Yee’s article began with prefacing her lack of a college education. Moxie girls preface their nonprofit internships with the fact that it’s a Duke program. I preface my more conservative beliefs with the fact that I come from Texas.

The more apparent prefacing becomes, the more I realize that the panelists had a point. Women frequently tiptoe around critical points and beliefs by assembling preface safety nets. If we are ever to break down equality barriers, we must abandon the preface reflex. We must speak with authority about our areas of expertise, and not substantiate the claims we know to be true. If we speak with assertion, our ideas and arguments may be treated with a heightened respect from readers – male and female.

One thought on “Preface

  1. That’s an interesting point and I feel like I will now be looking for this as I am reading especially critical writing or analysis. I wonder though whether prefacing needs to be viewed as a weakness. Does it always detract from the strength of the argument or the information? Isn’t it also a means of getting the reader or the listener on your side? Of beginning to build consensus or initiating the process of convincing someone you are right? Because women tend to write and argue differently than men does that necessarily mean their arguments are weaker or have less credibility? Can’t there be equality by accepting differences? I guess I find it hard to stomach that the way to achieve equality here is to write like a man . . . .

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